Study: 15% of Remote Employees Used Cannabis While Working

According to an American Marijuana study, 15% of remote employees worked from home under the influence of cannabis and the majority of those employees reported decreased stress (52.9%) and increased creativity (51.1%). Another 42.6% reported increased productivity while working under the influence of cannabis.

The survey included 1,001 full-time remote employees, including some who worked remotely both before and during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, of the 40.6% of respondents who have worked from home while under the influence of marijuana, most did not continue this practice during the pandemic. More than 63% of respondents answered ‘no,’ and 36.8% answered ‘yes’ to the question of whether they got high at work from home during the pandemic.”— American Marijuana, “High at Work from Home”

Gen Z—those aged 20 to 29—were the most likely to use cannabis while working from home, with 41.3% of those respondents saying they consumed it while on the clock. Individuals 30 to 39 and 40-49 used cannabis while working remotely at similar rates, 36.6% and 35.1%, respectively; while 29.8% of those 50-and-older said they used cannabis while working remotely, the study found. Women and men used cannabis while working at similar rates, 37.9% to 36.6%.

White-collar employees used cannabis during remote work at much higher rates than their blue-collar counterparts, 44.9% to 21.6%, American Marijuana found. More employees used cannabis than managers, 37.6% to 34.7%.

The study also found that the majority—53.6%—of remote employees’ companies didn’t drug test at all, while 23% performed drug tests regularly and 23.4% did so occasionally. The vast majority, 72.1%, of respondents indicated they didn’t think any change was required to their employer’s cannabis policy, with 16,8% saying it should be less strict and 11.1% saying it should be stricter.